[beaconstudios]

if you mean some televangelist megachurch then sure, they're basically the same thing.

I was thinking of local parishes, which have historically existed as a communal centre and hub of support for a community.

I genuinely don't understand how you'd think that enlisting a professional service versus your local community to deal with a bereavement would not be different? That's like saying that the only difference between paying somebody to be your friend versus having a legitimate friend is only different because money changed hands?